Drawn By Love

Drawn By Love

In our family we have an assortment of extra friendly pets of which two of them are dogs. Emma is our gentle, soft and tender hearted dog. Her long white fur flops sadly over her eyes beside her drooping ears giving her an even more heart wrenching gaze from her liquid brown eyes. Emma is a maltese cross papillon, boasting a fluffy white coat, a feathery tail  that curls up and over her body, seeming to disappear and a yap that is loud and piercing. Emma is a house dog. She simply could never think of living life outside like an ordinary dog. Instead her life is one of regal repose curled up on a cushy lounge chair or on my  comfortable bed and at meal times she places herself securely beside me, waiting patiently for me to kindly share my meal with her. She truly has a life of comfort and ease. 

Aiko on the other hand is an exuberant outside dog. She is a fox terrier with coarse short fur and floppy black ears that surround a face of loving adoration as she looks up at me.  As much as she loves to slip inside at any given opportunity, she can never find herself dozing nobly in delicate quietude. Instead, she flings herself crazily at the pace of a race horse around the living room, leaping from lounge chair to lounge chair and hurtling herself up the hallway to jump all over the bed like a naughty child. Yes, Aiko is an outside dog.

Several times a day I place Emma in the back yard where she quickly does her business and then runs rapidly to the back door again, banging with her paw to be let inside. Occasionally she enjoys sniffing leisurely around the fence line and exploring the yard. Aiko is always entirely delighted to have her presence in the yard and immediately sets out to motivate Emma to play with her. Aiko’s form of encouragement however, makes Emma’s life rather miserable. Aiko, being slightly taller than Emma, can see that tempting tufted tail hidden away in a curl over her back and the desire to pull that tail overpowers Aiko frequently. In her eagerness to force Emma to play with her, Aiko, enthusiastically grabs Emma’s tail between her teeth and pulls. She pulls hard. She pulls so hard she actually has Emma running  frantically backwards around the yard, twisting and turning in horror as she looks upon Aiko’s clenched teeth around the end of her tail. Aiko’s idea of encouragement is to use force. She will make Emma play with her. Eventually Aiko lets go, sometimes Emma will then play with her and other times Emma will whisk her tail away from those snapping teeth and make haste to the back door only to find Aiko outrunning her and grabbing her tail once more. 

The joy of each other’s company is eclipsed through force. Aiko deliberately coerces Emma to play with her by using simple brute strength. Under duress Emma is pressed to chase and romp merrily around the yard. The compulsion over rides any choice on Emma’s side to desire to join in with a happy doggy game.

How often I have misunderstood God’s character and thought of Him as a God of force. Does God make me good through compulsion? Does God coerce me to spend time with Him? The Bible tells me God is love (1 John 4:8) . Love is about freedom. Freedom to choose, whether those choices are right or wrong, good or bad, we have the freedom to choose. There are consequences to what we choose but we have that complete freedom to choose. In love there is no force or coercion or else it would not be love. Instead, God draws us with the desire for His love. In the depths of our heart we have an empty place just for Him, we have a soul hunger that responds only to His drawing love.

Ecc 3:11 “He has put eternity into man’s heart..”

Jer 31:3 “The LORD appeared to him from afar, saying, "I have loved you with an everlasting love; Therefore I have drawn you with lovingkindness.”

1 Cor 13:5 “It (love)  does not insist on its own way.”

Will I stop resisting the longing of God in my heart and and allow Him to draw me with a love that is indescribable, to enjoy the rapturous delights of being in a loving relationship with Him that stretches from now throughout all eternity?

Rev 3:20 Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and will dine with him, and he with Me.

The Last Resort

The Last Resort

Our family lived on a rugged Australian sheep property in the picturesque southern Highlands of our state. Our country cottage overlooked a sun kissed lake whose waters sparkled of thousands of diamonds and mirrored a reflection of the overhead skies. The lake attracted a large variety of birds, soaring above the waters, coming in to gracefully land and feeding endlessly in it’s expanse. It’s depths held an array of an assortment of water life from silver-scaled fish to the shimmering dragon flies hovering over it’s glistening surface. 

Living happily in the lake was the Australian Eastern Long Necked Turtle. These cute turtles, whose dark, burnished shells grow to about 25 centimeters in length, moved calmly in the lake’s waters, feeding slowly, yet deliberately as they swim. On radiant, sunny days, the turtle’s beady eyes could be seen bobbing slightly above the surface, webbed feet splayed out as the turtles would float in the warmth of the surface waters, basking in the rays of the sun.

All around the scraggy edges of the lake were fenced paddocks. The wired fence lines with rough, hand cut, wooden posts, would run the length of the paddock and down into the lake itself, disappearing under it’s surface. In a  severe drought, as the level of the lake would drop, the fence line would continue to hold the sheep and cattle in their designated areas. There is nothing a turtle enjoys more than a stock fence wire strung just above the surface of the water. It afforded an opportunity for the ultimate sun baking experience as the turtles would awkwardly pull themselves up onto the fence line, balancing  on their  hardened shells precariously and remaining very still to absorb the warmth of the sun. The wire was a double twisted strand studded with sharp barbs. The turtles would have to clamber on cautiously between the barbs to avoid being hooked onto the fence.

Our daughters grew up around the delightful lake, observing it’s diverse animal life and canoeing in exploration across it’s brackish waters. One warm, summers day our girls discovered a turtle on the wire of the fence line. However, the turtle was not balancing on it’s creamy yellow bottom shell but was hanging rather perilously by one webbed claw above the inviting waters below. The turtle had attempted everything to free itself. It had pulled and tugged at it’s claw only to find itself securely held in place. No amount of swinging it’s impenetrable shell could maneuver it’s foot from that barb. Every dauntless attempt to freedom was futile. The turtle was stranded upside down, dangling by it’s claw in an impossible situation. My girls attempted in vain to extract the turtle from the barb but the turtle fought courageously against any help. In desperation our daughters paddled the swift canoe vigorously back to it’s landing place and sought the help of their father. He quickly jumped into the canoe, island style, standing in it’s middle and paddling strenuously on a rescue mission to the helpless turtle. He was able to reach down and deftly unhook the turtle’s now dried and shriveled claw off the barb and release it back into the murky waters. 

I stopped to think about how many times I have been like that turtle stuck in an impossible situation with apparently no solution . I struggle valiantly on, going over and over the problem in my mind, trying to solve the dilemma, only to finally stop and say “I guess I can only pray.” Why is prayer often the last resort? Why don’t I always pray first? Why isn’t it instantly in my mind to seek the help of the Divine problem solver? Why do I dangle helplessly over the waters of life unable to extract myself out of something when all along God wants to come and rescue me, if only I would ask. Why do we as Christians hang our heads in consternation, shaking them at a loss as we tell one another that all we can do is pray? 

Phil 4:6, 7 Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

1 Thess 5:17 Pray without ceasing

A Bouquet of Love

A Bouquet of Love

It had been a hectic Friday and finally the day was ending and the Sabbath was drawing peacefully near. I had been so busy that it had completely slipped my mind that one of my husband’s clients was planning to drop by our house to pass something onto him. I was quietly relaxing at the end of the day, lounging around in my comfortable pyjamas, when an unknown car pulled up into our drive way. Suddenly I remembered the client’s promise to drop in and I sprang up realising I was in my pyjamas and probably not in quite the right attire to answer the front door. My husband attended to the knock as I exited hastily out of the main part of the house and up the hallway into the privacy of our bedroom. I was waiting for his client to leave as soon as she had  passed the necessary item onto my husband, when he came up the hallway towards me carrying the most gorgeous bouquet of flowers I had ever seen. My first words were to question why his work client bought me flowers. My husband told me it wasn’t his work client at the front door. Now I was really confused. Where had the flowers come from? Who was at the front door after all?  He quickly explained that I had received a delivery from a florist and the client was yet to drop by. I knew the flowers were not from my husband as he seemed just as intrigued as I was. Who would be sending me such beautiful flowers? Suddenly I knew who they were from and before even reading the card I promptly and excitedly took a photo of them and sent it off to my best friend, who lives far away in the USA. I was still in complete surprise and totally awed by the gift when I enthusiastically opened the pretty card to read the message of friendship. My guess was right.My phone sounded and my best friend was just as excited as me. She had been patiently waiting all day for the flowers to be delivered. 

I was in amazement at the gesture of love and kindness shown towards me. The flowers were exceptionally spectacular. The roses were wine glass roses; huge goblet shaped flowers, with a lovely scent and delicately tinted in pink. Surrounding the dazzling roses were charming gerberas of different shades of pink, nestled among an assortment of greenery. The box of flowers was a visual array of a palette of pink. Pink is my favourite colour and I felt transported to heaven in a delight of a blush of flowers.

I was gazing at the flowers in wonder, admiring each tiny detail of their gentle petals, inhaling the pleasure of their aroma, when I thought of my precious friend. How much she must love me to send such an unexpected gift of joy at great expense. My eyes filled with tears to think of her far away yet still pouring her love into my heart through the beauty of flowers. 

It was then that God brought to my mind a paragraph in the book Steps to Christ p10         “ ‘God is love’ is written upon every opening bud, upon every spire of springing grass. The lovely birds making the air vocal with their happy songs, the delicately tinted flowers in their perfection perfuming the air, the lofty trees of the forest with their rich foliage of living green—all testify to the tender, fatherly care of our God and to His desire to make His children happy.” 

How often I had read that paragraph and thought about it’s meaning only to find the depth of it eluded me. Now as I gazed in awe and wonder at the perfection of beauty and the love in the gift I understood the paragraph in a deeper sense. My eyes again filled with tears at the thought of a loving heavenly Father who loved me so much that He has showered upon me gifts of beauty. All around for me to enjoy, I see the works of His hands, the graceful flowers of varied hues, the colourful birds singing so sweetly and the trees of living green waving gently in the breeze. These are gifts to me given out of a heart filled with love. 

Do I see His love around me? Do I sense the warmth of His heart? Do I love Him in response to the glories of His gifts. God has surprises wrapped with love all around me? Do I stop to excitedly delight in them?

Psalm 104:24 - O LORD, how manifold are your works! In wisdom has thou made them all: the earth is full of your riches.

The Unopened Parcel

The Unopened Parcel

My husband and I travelled from Australia to New Zealand, meeting up with two of our adult daughters, to then spend some time with my husband’s family and to attend our nephew’s wedding. The first week in New Zealand we enjoyed with our family, while our nephew James played tour guide for us. He kindly drove us around to see the interesting city sights of Christchurch, the beaches of ashen sand and to entertaining street markets where we could enjoy buying souvenirs. 

I love buying presents and being in another country just gave me another opportunity to be able to pour my love into family and friends by buying New Zealand souvenirs for them all. I started at the street market stalls and then spied a shop titled “Souvenirs”, which I found was an Aussie shoppers paradise. With much delight and joy I picked up item after item, Maori hand carved bone and wooden articles, t-shirts, base ball caps, pens, stuffed toys, mugs, key rings and much more. With loving thought, prayer and planning I chose many gifts. 

Finally our pleasurable holiday in New Zealand was over. I had continued, while touring the south Island after my nephews wedding, to take advantage of delightfully buying even more presents until I had a bag bulging with souvenirs. We flew back to Australia and with much eagerness I planned on giving my gifts to their recipients.

One parcel of presents was assigned to a family in the USA. Each present had been lovingly chosen and thoughtfully wrapped and with flourishes of ribbon adding a final touch. Clutching a copy of the address, I took the gifts to the post office, placed them in a box and sent them on their way. With much eagerness and anticipation I waited for the day they would arrive and thought of the joy the family would receive upon their arrival.

Finally the day came and the parcel arrived. It was carried into the house and talked about with much expectation and a skype meeting was in the planning so the family could open the gifts online with me. Alas, however, plans were suddenly and unexpectedly  rearranged. Extended family members who were arriving to stay for a while appeared earlier than previously thought and all arrangements to open the parcel on skype was put on hold. 

Hour after hour as extended family members came and went filling the house up with much chatter, laughter, meals and time of togetherness, the parcel remained unopened. Hours turned into days and days turned into weeks. Finally family dwindled away, the house resumed normality and time was made to just sit and enjoy opening the parcel on skype. What fun we had as each present was opened and I shared the stories of how I bought it, where I bought it and why I bought it. Smiles and joy and happiness abounded as each gift of love from me was opened and cherished. My heart was filled with overflowing to see the pleasure the family gained from the gifts.

That unopened parcel reminded me so much of the gifts from God. When I chose Jesus to be my Saviour from sin and to be the Lord of my life I received from Him the gift of salvation. It was like a parcel with many gifts wrapped up inside. God doesn’t just want me to be saved eternally and have that *parcel* in my hands, He has also enjoyed pouring His love into me and wrapping up many gifts that come with the parcel of salvation. His gifts are full of His love and He wants me to unwrap them and treasure them and enjoy them. The Bible tells us of the gift of the Holy Spirit, of the gift of faith, repentance, the gifts of wisdom, knowledge, gifts of healing, teaching, evangelizing, languages, discernment, prayer, the gift of  prophecy, miracles, joy, forgiveness, encouragement and more. The bible tells us of many gifts all loving wrapped by God who wants to do so much more than just give us salvation. He wants us to have a life of abundant joy and to be able to share that joy with others. Do I hold in my hands God’s unopened parcel? Do I dare to open the parcel and see all that God has given to me? Will I unwrap the gifts?

James 1:17 Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.